CONSTITUTION SCHOOLS
The foundation of Texas Public Schools was established in the Texas Constitution. In fact, Legislators take an oath when sworn into office to support the constitution and honor their constitutional duty to make suitable provision for the support and maintenance of public free schools. So, you could say the Texas public schools are actually the “Constitution schools.” And, there are a lot of them.
http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/CN/htm/CN.7.htm#7.1
TEXAS SIZE
The Texas public school enrollment for Spring 2016 was 5,284,306 students. That is a huge number. In fact, the Texas public school population is larger than the population of 28 other states in the nation. We have 1,207 school districts and 8,685 campuses including charter schools that are committed to helping every child reach their full academic potential.
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
Texans have much to be proud of in their public schools. The much anticipated and highly regarded 2016 U.S. News and World Report published their rigorous Best High Schools national rankings. This competitive ranking revealed the best high school in the entire nation was The School for the Talented and Gifted (TAG) in Dallas ISD. Texas public schools also earned the distinction of having 3 of the top 10 Best High Schools in America. 4 of the top 10 Magnet Schools were also in Texas. Overall, Texas had over 450 schools mentioned in the report. That is an amazing public school accomplishment for our rapidly growing state.
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/rankings-overview
The Best Schools organization recently published their ranking of the best secondary schools in the nation. Texas earned 5 in the top 25 best schools. There were 3 from Dallas ISD, 1 from Houston ISD and 1 from Austin ISD.
http://www.thebestschools.org/rankings/best-public-high-schools-us/
FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY
Accountability and transparency for the use of taxpayer dollars is a top priority for the state. “The state’s school financial accountability rating system, known as the School Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST), ensures that Texas public schools are held accountable for the quality of their financial management practices and that they improve those practices. The system is designed to encourage Texas public schools to better manage their financial resources to provide the maximum allocation possible for direct instructional purposes.” This rigorous rating system revealed that 98% of the school districts received a “superior” rating and 1.56% received a rating of “above standard.” Only .39% failed and will get training to improve their status.
http://tea4avwaylon.tea.state.tx.us/First/forms/AdminStats.aspx
DIVERSITY
Our public schools enjoy great diversity and some of the best graduation rates in the nation. Texas’ graduation rate among Hispanic students is the second highest in the nation at 86.5%. Similarly, the graduation rate among African American students is second in the nation 85.2%.
These examples highlight just a few reasons we have to celebrate our public schools and be TX Public School Proud!
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